Deflating machine



March 28, 1933. J. WAHL DEFLATING MACHINE Filed Marh 5, .1930

INVENTOR M By Attorneys,

Patented Mar. 28, 1933 UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN WAHL, FROSEDALE, NEW YORK, .ASSIGN O R TO A. SCI-IRADLER IS SON, INCOR-PORATED, OF YORIQ Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK DEFLATING MACHINE Thepresent invention relates to tube deflating machines and aims to providecertain'improvements therein.

In prior constructions of deflating machines of the general type towhich the presentinvention is directed, it has been the usual practiceto employ mechanical means in cooperative relation with the foot of avalve stem to maintain the walls of the tube separated at the pointwhereat the air is exhausted until sub stantially all the air has beenevacuated from the tube, and to also employ expandible means forengaging the inner periphery of the tube V to cause its collapse duringthe evacuating 013-.

ness, others because of their lack of ease in" operation, and stillothers because of the fact that the deflated tubedid not lie flat norconveniently lend itself to rolling or folding for packing, withoutbuckling. This latter objection was particularly evident in tire tubeswhich are formed on curved mandrels.

According to the present invention I pro- 36: vide a machine in whichthe enumerated ob-' jections are obviated and which contains novel andefiicient means for supporting the tube in a manner such that'the wallsof the tube will remain spaced apart at the foot of the valve stemthroughout the deflating operation, and

one which causes the tube upon deflation to assume a shape whichfacilitates the rolling or folding of the tube for packaging. Theinvention also includes other features of novefty, all of which will beunderstood from the the detailed description which follows, whenconsidered in conjunction with the accompanying drawlng, wherein Figure1 is a fractional elevation of a tube deflating machine with partsthereof shown in section. v 4 I Fig. 2-is a similar view of a slightlymodified form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a fractional top plan view of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Application filed. March 5,

1930. Serial No. 433,371.

F i 4 is a longitudinal section of a pre fer-red form of valve openerfor use with the present invention. v

Fig. 5 is a top plan viewof a detail of the invention shown in Fig. 1.

Referring first to Figs. 1, 3 and 5 ofthe drawin-g, let A indicatela'base upon which is mounted a vertical upright or standard B formed atits top with a hollow bearing C having an external circumferentialgroove '0 which communicates with the hollow interior of the bearingthrough openings 0. 7 Connected to the top of the interior of thebearing C is a tube D communicating with a suction pump (not shown).

Idotatablyv mounted upon the bearing is a movable carrier E having aplurality of radial ducts c communicatlng with the in tenor of thebearing C through the grooved and opening 0. The carrier E has mountedlike, said portion fformingwith the h0ri-.

zontally disposed arm F .an' angle of approximately 135. i r

Mounted upon each arm F intermediate its ends through the medium of asuitable hollow T-fitting G and nipple g is a casing H within which isfitted valve opener means which comprises a check valve in normally heldagainst a packing h by a coil spring If, one end of which pressesagainst a shoulder on the check it and the other end of which'bearsagainst a shoulder j provided within a plug element J fitted withinthecasing H. The check valve at its seating end is provided witha-projection k which extends-through the packing h and is adapted toengage the end of a valvepin ofthetire valveto unseat the same when saidtire valve is inserted into the open end of the casing and pressedagainst. the packing h. The tire valve unseatingelement or opener kisprovided with a tapered;

the valve unseating means used in valve chucks for many years. Forguiding the nipple end of the tire valve into engagement with the valveopener, the forward or leading end of the casing His flared outwardly,as shown at 71. said outwardly flared portion connecting with a reducedbore if through an intermediate bore 72, which latter is preferablylined with antifriction material.

For establishing communication between the interior of the plug J andthe casing H, the former is provided with a reduced end which providesan annular groove y" and with spaced radial openings j leading from saidannular groove to the interior of the plug J. For providing a leak-tightseal between the plug J and casing H, a packing 7' is fitted between therear end of said casing and an enlarged head on the plug J. For

9l guiding the check valve in its movements,

tapered toward each other, as shown at 73 I0 or forked. as shown at 7cin Fig. 5.

it is provided with a stem h which is slidable in a bore 3' in the plug;The interior of the plug J being in communication with the suction tubeD through the medium of tube ings f, it will be apparent that thepressure exerted by the spring k upon the valve it must be suflicient toovercome the suction effect upon the back of said valve.

Mounted upon'each arm F and disposed in line "with the axis of the valveopener h is a support K for a pneumatic tube to be de flated, whichsupport K comprises an arm 70 extending longitudinally and preferably insupe'rposed relation to the arm F, the end of said arm is nearest to thevalve unseating means being curved upwardly to form a seat or cradle fora pneumatic tube, the upwardly extending end of said arm beingbifurcated The distance between the arms or prongs of the fork issufiicient to receive th-erebetween the valve stem of the pneumatic tubeto be de fiated, and the end faces of said prongs are at an anglecorrespondingto angles provided by the dlvergent wings of a bridgewasher with its base. The height of the prongs 10' is such that when thevalve stem of a pneu, matic tube to be deflated is received within theforked end of the support K between the tube and the bridge washer, thelower edge of the bridge washer will seat on the base 70 of said forkedend, and function to support said tube thereon.

The tube support K is carried by a fitting L which is slidably mountedupon the arm F, the rear end of the support being guided in its slidingmovement by passing through a guide opening formed in a member M whichis rigidly mounted in upright position upon the arm F. Pivotally mountedto the top of the member M is an operating lever N which is connectedwith the top of i the element L through the medium of a'link 0, the endsof which are pivotally connected respectively to the top of the elementL and move the upturned endof the support K to ward the valveopener. Tolimit the support in its forward movement it is provided with a stop pin10 In lieu of the lever and link connection L, M, N, O for controllingthe movement of the tube support, as shown in Fig. 1, I may employ themodified form of tube support K shown in Fig. 2, wherein the. rear endof the support is provided with a downwardly projecting lug 70 having an7 axial opening through which extends the arm F and upon which saidsupport is slid-able. For guiding and preventing relativecircumferential movement of the support upon the arm, any suitable meansmay be employed, for example, the sides of the arm F may be grooved, asindicated by the reference character f and the'lug 76 may be fitted withpins 10 engaging in said grooves. The pin and groove connection 70 f canalso serve to limit the axial movement of the support K on the arm F.Normally it is intended that the support F be urged toward the valveopener means so that when a tube is mounted on said support the valvestem thereof will be automatically moved against the valve opener tounseat the tire valve.

For accomplishing this end, I mount in encircling relation upon the armF, a spring P and provide an abutment for said spring by rigidlysecuring a collar Q, to said arm;

In the operation'of the first being to mount the tire to be deflatedupon the supports, and the duty-of the second being merelyto remove thedeflated tires from the supports when they reach him, the

the device two operators are preferably employed, the duty of cally, thedeflating operation is carried out r as follows: 7

The first operator will mount the'tube on the support K or K in a mannersuch that the forked arm will engage between the tube and the bridgewasher on the valve stem,

with said stem directed toward the valve opener. With the constructiondisclosedin Fig. 1, the end of the lever N is then pressed downwardly tomove the end of the valve against the valve opener. The weight of thehandle a is sufficienttohol-d the end of the valve stem against thepacking h in tire valve opening position. With the apparatus disclosedin Fig. 2 substantially the same procedure is followed excepting thatthe spring P will normally move and hold the valve in valve openingposition. With the construction of Fig. 1 in the course of time, or ifdesirable, to begin with, the parts may be so proportioned and weightedthat the weight of the handle a will automatically, due to the action ofgravity thereon, move and hold the tube support in proximity to thevalve opener. In this event, when mounting a tube to be deflated it willbe necessary for the operator to first move the support away from thevalve opener to permit the mounting of the tube thereon, and uponreleasing or lessening the applied force counteracting that of theweight of the handle, the valve willbe moved to valve opening position.The tube R is then mounted upon the support with portions 1" and 1*thereof disposed on opposite sides of the support, as best shown indotted lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 8. When so positioned, the tube is senton its circuit around the bearing C either by being given a gentle pushby the operator or by mechanical means for rotating the carrier E at apredetermined rate. The mounting of the tubes R is continued by thefirst operator, and as deflation progresses the portions of the tubes onopposite sides of the support will fall and assume substantiallysemi-circular forms which will have a substantially flat condition, asbest shown in fulllines in Figs. 1 and 3, by the time said tubes reachthe second operator, whereupon said tubes are removed from the supportby merely moving the tube support K or K away from the valve opener andlifting the deflated tube from said support.

I have found that because of the angular relation between the supportingarms F and f and the relative position of the valve opener with respectto said angular portlons of the supporting frame, the tubes in deflatedcondition will assume a substantially semi-circular flat formation whichadmirably facilitates the rolling or folding of the tube for packaging.This is of particular value in the packaging of pneumatic tubes whichhave been formed on a circular mandrel, since difiiculties have alwaysbeen experienced in satisfactorily packaging such tubes. Of course, theinvention is equally applicable to tubes formed on a straight mandrel.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of myinvention and the manner in which same is to be used, I do not wish tobe limited to the specific details of construction disclosed or the manner of operation defined, since these may be varied without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is: r

1. In a deflating machine for pneumatic tubes or the like, a valveopener, means for bodily supporting the tube, said means being movablewith the tube tolpresent thefree end.

of the tube valve to the opener, and means normally urging the tubesupporting means toward the opener. p i 1 i 2. A machine for deflatingpneumatic tubes or the like, com prising'a-supporting arm and means forsupportingfi'alltube in a manner such that its walls will ,be. separatedat the foot of the -valve, said means being movable with the tube asaunitalongsaidarm.

3. A machine for deflating pneumatictubes or the 1ike,--comprisinga'supporting'arm, a valve opener carriedby said arm, and means forsupporting atube in a manner such that' its walls will be separated at'thefoot-ofthe valve, said means'beingmovable-with the tube as aunitalong said arm. 1 I

4. A machine .fordeflating pneumatic tubes or the like, comprisinga'horizontallydlsposed supporting arm, a valve opener'carried by saidarm and disposed in parallel relation thereto, and meansfor supporting atube comprising a pair of fingers which are movable withv the tube as aunit along said arm.

5. A machine for deflating pneumatic tubes or the like, comprising asupporting arm, and a forked member slidable along said arm for engaginga tube valve stem between the walls of the tube, and the wings of abridge washer on the valve stem, the prongs of said fork being in aplane disposed transversely to the arm.

6. A machine for deflating pneumatic tubes or the like, comprising asupporting arm, and a tube supporting means compris- 7 ing a forkedmember slidable along said arm and adapted to engage between the wall ofa tube and the wings of the bridge washer on the tube valve stem. V

7. A mechanism for deflating pneumatic tubes, comprising a supporthaving portions thereof disposed substantially in a common 7 plane at anangle'to eachother with the top portlonof the angle of said supportextendmg horizontally, over which support a tube to be deflated can beplaced, which tube when so positioned will have portions thereofdisposed on opposite sides of the plane of the support, means carried bythe top portion of the support connecting with a suction device forengaging the end of the tube valve, and means for holding the tube wallsspaced apart at the foot of the valve stem slidably mounted on the topportion of the support.

8. A deflating machine for pneumatic tubes or the like, comprising aplurality of radially-extending tube-supporting arms, each arm havingmeans for connecting with a tube valve stem andprovided with a valveopener, and with spreader means forengaging a tube to maintain its wallsseparated at the foot of the valve stem, said spreader means beingslidably mounted on the support- 1 ing arms. I v

9. A deflating machine for pneumatic tubes or the like, comprising aplurality of radially-extending tube-supporting arms which are angularin form with one branch. ofeach arm extending horizontally and the otherbranch'forming an obtuse angle with the first, the horizontal branch ofeach armv 1Q having means for connecting with a tube valve stem andprovided with a valve opener, and withspreader means for engaging a tubeto maintainits walls separated at the foot of the valve stem, saidspreader means being slidable relatively to the arm.

10. A deflating mechanism according to claim 9, wherein each of thehorizontal branches of the supporting arms is provid ed with a passagewhich connects the member provided with the valve opener to a suctiondevice.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name. JOHN WAI-IL.

